Thursday, August 24

As my wonderful Sis pointed out, I guess it's been awhile since I've updated. You'd think I'd have more time to do this with not working, but life's been pretty crazy the past week.

Well my last day at the big computer company that's STILL cleaning house (or so I've heard) was last Friday. It all went much better than I'd anticipated. Just roamed around saying my good-byes then went out to lunch with a pretty good sized group of (now former) co-workers. Yummy mexican food.... even BETTER margaritas!

The job search is going. Not sure where, but I'm working on it. Back on the 10th I took a "test" for State Farm (I use that term lightly as it was really more of a personality probe filling in the bubbles and then having the big dot reader in the sky determine if I'm full of myself). So after waiting much longer than the 3-5 days they said they would contact people, I finally got a phone call on Tuesday and have the Round 2 stuff to attend to tomorrow morning. Interview with an HR rep, take a typing test, and complete an application. Don't even know what they've got for openings right now, or the pay structure... so we'll see.

Other than that, just getting caught up on the piles around the house. And having a little play time too! It's like being on vacation... until I go to pay the bills and wonder where I'm gonna get the money.

Sunday, August 13

Congratulations Steve, Stacie & Michael! Little Piper finally made her appearance this morning around 6:30am ET at a very healthy 7lbs+. Can't wait to see her!!

I've got my walking papers... A couple weeks ago you might remember I posted that I was in the right place at the wrong time. Well, this past Wednesday I was told my end date - Friday, August 18. Even when you know it's coming, it's still sort of surreal. I've never been in this situation before - getting laid off and not knowing where my next job would be. So I've been stressing pretty hard lately. Have a few irons in the fire and am just keeping my fingers crossed one of them turns out. If not, I may have to resort to one of the suggestions made by two friends - pass the hat before leaving on my last day, or get back out and work the street corner. Nice.

Thursday, August 3

By fair standards, the Thurston County Fair really isn't much of a fair. Oh, they have all the big fair events - livestock auctions, horse riding competitions, vendors, agriculture, art, concerts, food and the carnival - but on the scale of county fairs... it's peanuts.

Nonetheless, Wesley looks forward to going every year, and we made our annual trek last night with Cathy and Cody. This year I got smart and planned ahead.

Dinner at Cathy's - FREE

Parking - $2.50 (Cathy paid the other half)

Entrance - $2.00 (plus two donations for the Thurston County Food Bank)

Besides the people we ran into from school, summer camp, or wherever else we know people from, I have to say there are some really weird people that hang out at the fair. Some of my favorites were:

The couple who wanted to know where the stage was (there's 3) and then argued with me when I told them where each and every one of them were.

The kid that kept going in the exit and out the entrance of the haunted house after being told by the carnie at least 6 times to go the other way. (Where the hell were the parents?)

The mother who argued with one of the carnies about 'why would she be allowed to buy tickets for her daughter to ride the rides and then have her daughter not be allowed to ride them'. (The girl had a full cast on her right arm.)

The man who dropped his cell phone while riding the Zipper and somehow got it stuck inside the fiberglass seat he was riding in causing the ride to be shut down for 15 minutes while they tried to retrieve it for him. (Didn't happen... maybe when they tear things down in the middle of the night on Sunday.)

And my most favorite... the old fat lady who wanted me to watch her purse and bag while she rode the rides so she wouldn't have to take them on with her.

Of course there were many other skanky, poorly (or barely) dressed people floating about, but it's rare when you can say the carnies looked more normal and approachable than many of the fairgoers. The carnies are on their way to you next week, Stacie. Wish I could send the rest of the underworld with them!

Tuesday, August 1

It's pretty bad when you have to submit a resume for review by some anonymous person, and they're the one who decides if they will give you a referral to the company looking to hire. I submitted such referral request this morning and by this afternoon I have a lovely email with the subject line "Referral Denied".

Let's take a look at the job posting and how I meet (or EX-freakin-CEED) the damn qualifications, shall we!?!

Job Requirements:* AA Degree; Check!* Five (5) years of increasingly responsible administrative support experience; I only have 15+, so apparently this should read "No more than five (5) years..."* Strong computer skills, including MS Office Suite applications; proficiency w/ MS Access is a plus; MS Office Suite, PageMaker, FrameMaker, Photoshop, PrintShop, Acrobat... just to name a few* Excellent written & verbal communication and customer service skills; last time I checked English was my first freakin language* Self-motivated & self-initiating, with the ability to organize & prioritize workload, anticipate, plan and multi-task; uh... yeah... kinda have to have all these to do any freakin job, don't ya!?* Detail-oriented, able to review & understand general instructions, prepare & provide detailed information, yet flexible and adaptable to change; English... I speak English* Valid WA State Driver's License and own reliable transportation & telephone; I sure hope so since I'm putting at least 30 miles a day on my car and paying out the ass for all the gas* Pass pre-employment drug screening and reference check. Check... done that 7 months ago